Mustang Sally Running All Over Town

Cool Margaret!! Bet that shorter scale makes it way easier to handle, fret etc. Hope you enjoy it, looks great.
Robbie

Cool! Don't put her feet on the ground :-)

8)

Hey I know that bass! ;)

The Mustang neck is really nice, not only because of the shorter scale but also because of the narrower string spacing and thin profile. Makes it feels much more like an electric guitar than most other basses. Great little thumper!

Very cool Margaret! 8) Have fun with her! :wink:

Dan

The Mustang neck is really nice, not only because of the shorter scale but also because of the narrower string spacing and thin profile. Makes it feels much more like an electric guitar than most other basses. Great little thumper!
Exactly! Sally feels much like my Hwy One Strat, making the transition to bass easier. Although my Ibanez has a very narrow neck as well, the greater distance between frets makes it feel like a different animal than my guitars. Still being a beginner on the guitar, it was just too much to try to learn two completely different instruments at the same time. I should've gone with a short-scale bass from the start.

Thanks, everyone. :D

Margaret

I love the sound and playability of short-scale basses.

Do you have round-wound or flat-wounds on her?

Sally is currently modeling DR Lo Rider stainless steel round wound strings, sizes 45-105. :)

I don't have enough experience with bass strings to speak intelligently on the subject, other than to say I like the sound and feel of these so far, and that at this point, I would plan to replace them with the same thing when the time comes.

Margaret

Looks a nice bass indeed Margaret...just out of interest, what's the measurement from the nut to the first fret? Is there really much difference between the short-scale and long-scale? Mine's exactly 5cm from the edge of the nut nearest the fretboard to the edge of the first fret (nearest edge to the nut.)

:D :D :D

Vic

Sally is currently modeling DR Lo Rider stainless steel round wound strings, sizes 45-105. :)
I don't have enough experience with bass strings to speak intelligently on the subject, other than to say I like the sound and feel of these so far, and that at this point, I would plan to replace them with the same thing when the time comes.

Just to point out, those Lo Riders are long-scale strings cut down to fit the bass. I could not find a short-scale set which had enough tension to my liking, other than some D'addarios, but the stainless steel DRs had a more dynamic tone IMHO. Also, the Lo Riders are very smooth for stainless strings - almost as smooth feeling as nickel plated.

Looks a nice bass indeed Margaret...just out of interest, what's the measurement from the nut to the first fret? Is there really much difference between the short-scale and long-scale? Mine's exactly 5cm from the edge of the nut nearest the fretboard to the edge of the first fret (nearest edge to the nut.)

:D :D :D

Vic
When I was considering buying Sally (long-distance and without access to another Mustang to try out), I asked Slejhamer the same question, and here was his answer (you'll have to convert from English measurement to metric to compare to yours):

"Interesting question! I measure the 1st fret of the Mustang at 1-5/8" (inside of the nut to inside of the fret wire). I measure the 1st fret of my '51 at 1-3/8", so 1/4" shorter.

Here's another way to think about it: if I put my index finger on the A string, my ring finger on the D string 2 frets higher, and my pinky on the G string two frets up from the D, I can cleanly fret this three-string "chord" all the way down to the 2nd fret of the Mustang, but I can only get down to the 5th fret of the full-scale bass I tried this on in the store the other day. To me, that really demonstrates the scale differences."

Yes, it makes a significant difference. I wasn't so sure either, but once I held it in my hands, it was confirmed twice-over. The fret-hand orientation on the short-scale is very similar to a 6-string guitar.

Margaret

That bass is cool, I didn't even know that they made shorter scale basses.

That's an interesting way to measure the scale length; you'd normally just go "well, it's 4 inches shorter than a standard size bass."

But this reminded me of another lefty bass player I chatted with on another board, who had a Turser like me, but also got one of the SX short-scale P-basses from Rondo. He said that though it was still a short-scale, the manufacturer seemed to have 'shortened it from the other end.' In other words, the spacing between the frets near the nut was the same or very close to the spacing on a regular length bass.

Which I guess means the same number of frets on the fingerboard, but starting at the same point you would on a regular neck and building everything 'that way.'

Cool bass you got there though! Fret spacing and length are just about like my Turser.

Have fun with it.

So - first fret of Mustang - 1 & 5/8 ins....
first fret of my cheap bass - a hair under 2" (1 and 31/32ths, if you want to be exact...)

almost 3/8 of an inch difference....I'd say that was pretty significant!!!

Having huge, clumsy hands wouldn't normally be thought of as an asset - unless you're playing a longscale bass, obviously!

(How big are they, I hear you all ask?) - see my new avatar....where it would appear that an F#5 is about to become an F#6.....

:D :D :D

Vic